Smart Shopping: Using Good Credit Scores to your Advantage

For small purchases, there is less impact on your wallet if you have a less-than-stellar credit score. But when it comes to bigger purchases such as a new car, a new house or an investment in a startup business, credit scores clearly matter. As well, there are other shopping perks that come with having good credit scores, which this blog post will explore.

Better Credit Card Options
One outstanding shopping perk that comes through maintaining good credit scores is better credit card options.

These can include all of the following and more:

– Higher limits. Being able to qualify for a card with a higher limit can boost your credit score even further.
– Lower interest rates. Here, you will pay less on interest charges when you carry a balance.
– Additional perks. Such perks may include travel miles, travel assistance and online shopping discounts and even cash back offers and zero interest balance transfers.
– Activation and use payouts. Some credit card companies will even pay customers with good credit scores to open a line of credit with them!

Lower Rates on “Big Ticket” Loans and Mortgages
Let’s say you have found the perfect home. The only trouble is, the mortgage loan you need to qualify for is $200,000. If you have good credit, you won’t worry much about the interest you will pay on top of that. But if you have poor credit, you may not be able to afford your home.

Here is an example of how you save on mortgage loan interest by having good credit:

– 740+ credit score. Your interest rate is 4.025 percent. You will save $175 per month on payments over the people with poor credit.
– 680-699 credit score. Your interest rate is 4.974 percent. You will save $113 per month on payments over the people with poor credit.
– 620-639 credit score. Your interest rate is 5.481 percent. You will pay nearly $150,000 more in interest payments than the people with excellent credit over your mortgage’s lifetime.

Better Rates on Student Loans AND More Higher Income
If you aspire to higher education, your credit score can affect whether you can qualify for student loans, how fast you will be approved if you qualify and what your interest rate will be (with really good credit, you may be able to win an interest-free student loan!)

But increasingly, credit scores are part of employers’ candidate job screening procedures as well. So maintaining good credit can affect whether you are considered for that plum job and how much money you are offered if you win it!

Get that Great Apartment
If you are renting, your landlord will absolutely do a credit check before offering you the apartment. As such, your credit score will affect not only where you can live but how much rent you will pay to live there.

Afford That Amazing New Car
It is no secret the auto business continues to walk a fine line between health and instability. So it is no surprise that manufacturers and dealers are offering more ways than ever to afford the new car you want.

But what you will pay out in loan interest, the kind of deal you can negotiate and the time it takes for your loan to get approved – all of these still hinge on your credit.

With good credit comes a host a benefits, perks and savings that make themselves felt on a monthly and annual basis. From mortgage interest to rent level, education and job opportunities, credit card perks and more, your efforts on your own behalf to repair poor credit and maintain good credit will put more cash in your pocket and more peace of mind in your head.